District 8 was formed in August 1937 and was responsible for patrol duties in Butler, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Hancock, Kossuth, Mitchell, Winnebago, Worth and Wright counties.

Since its inception, the District 8 office has been housed at five different locations within Mason City. Originally, it was established at 15 ½ 2nd Street N.E. until 1949, when it was moved to 1415 ½ South Federal. In 1959, the District office was moved to 5th and South President where it remained until 1964. After 45 years, it relocated to South Eisenhower Ave and Highway 18.

In April 2009, District 8 Headquarters, relocated to a newly constructed building at 4425 S. Washington Ave in Mason City. The size of the new facility allows DPS to support ISP personnel, as well as personnel from the DNE, DCI, Fire Marshal Office, and the Intelligence Center.

Since District 8 was first founded, the District’s lines have changed over the years and it now encompasses only eight counties which include Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Floyd, Hancock, Howard, Mitchell, Winnebago and Worth counties. It currently supports one lieutenant, three sergeants and 18 troopers and one secretary.

In May of 1968, the Charles City Tornado tore through the town resulting in the death of twelve citizens and wiped out the entire business district. In the years following that disastrous event, District 8 has played an important role in the response and recovery efforts of several other events such as the 2008 Parkersburg Tornado, the 2008 Cedar Rapids Flood, and the 39 vehicle pile-up on I-35 during a blizzard in 2010 which resulted in one fatality. Since 2007, District 8 began hosting a multi-agency Vehicle Safety Inspection Checkpoint on I-35, at mile marker 211, which is supported by approximately 70 law enforcement officers from city, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.